Second World Chapter 2002. Servers

2002 Chapter 2002. Servers

In the secluded garden belonging to Chris, Jack, John, Jeanny, Grace, Paytowin, and Linda materialized near the pavilion by the lake.

"Is she allowed to be here too?" Jack asked, gesturing toward Linda.

"Her presence was my request to Chris. This discussion involves her directly," John clarified.

Inside the pavilion, Chris and Wilted were occupied with a projection, which Chris promptly deactivated as the group approached.

"What is this vital news you needed to share?" Chris inquired.

"I am here to verify a theory and seek your assistance," John stated.

"My help? I don't run a charity, kid. I can't solve every person's problems. My involvement against Apollyon is strictly because I view him as my own mess to clean up, nothing more."

"Don't worry. This request falls squarely under your duties, and you are the only one capable of helping."

"Hm… exactly what are you implying?" Chris asked.

"Do you recall Spring Crown’s inquiry regarding the individuals who went missing?" John questioned.

Chris’s expression shifted slightly. "What about it?"

"I suspect you know exactly where they are and possess the tools to locate them."

"And what led you to that conclusion?" Chris asked.

"I remember your proposal to Wilted—that she could come here if our attempt to stop Master failed," John noted. He then turned to Wilted, asking, "Did he explain the details of that offer to you?"

Wilted shook her head. "No. I never intended to accept, so I didn't ask."

"Well, my mother and I intend to take you up on it now," John declared.

"John, what are you talking about?" Jeanny asked, confused.

John looked at Chris, waiting to see if the man would explain, but Chris remained silent. Turning back to Jeanny, John asked, "Before I explain, let me ask everyone something. What was the total population of our original world?"

"Uh… I never really checked the stats," Jack admitted.

"Eight hundred million people," Paytowin answered confidently.

"And do any of you know the total number of players currently in this world?" John followed up.

The group shook their heads in response.

"There are approximately eleven million human players within Themisphere," John revealed.

"We have that many?" Jack asked, surprised.

"You aren't even aware of your own kingdom's population?" Paytowin muttered dismissively.

"Why would I keep a running tally of every player in the country?" Jack retorted.

"Both of you, be quiet," John commanded. He continued, "Obtaining a precise census is tricky now that international travel is open, but that is the estimate for human players according to city records. I calculate that the system placed roughly one million players in every metropolis following the tutorial."

"But we have twelve metropolises," Jack pointed out.

"Themonium only reached that status recently. Themisphere had eleven main cities when we first arrived," John corrected him. "These initial entry points are classified as main cities. I’ve done the math. Every one of the seven nations has eleven main cities. If you average one million players per city, what is the total?"

As Jack began to calculate, Paytowin blurted out, "Seventy-seven million!"

"Damn it!" Jack snapped.

"Hehe," Paytowin grinned with pride.

"This isn't a competition, you two," Jeanny scolded.

"So, we can estimate this entire world holds about seventy-seven to eighty million people. Yet, our old world had eight hundred million. If these figures are accurate, the player base here is only ten percent of the original population. Where is the remaining ninety percent?"

The group's gaze shifted to Chris, who avoided their eyes by staring at a distant tree.

"I'll provide the answer," John said. "It's a standard concept in gaming. Multiplayer environments have capacity limits. If you cram too many people in, the system collapses. How do developers fix that?"

"Separate game servers!" Jack shouted.

"Exactly," John confirmed.

Jack shot a triumphant look at Paytowin.

"Guys, seriously, stop it!" Jeanny warned again.

"During the marketing for Second World, they claimed it would be a true alternate reality where everyone could play together on a single server," John explained. "That was clearly an exaggeration. Even with our level of technology, limits exist. Furthermore, not everyone is a gamer. I suspect Trigitech built a server for eighty million people and created backups for the rest."

"Ten," Chris finally interrupted. "There are ten identical servers."

"So John is right?" Jeanny asked.

Chris gave a noncommittal shrug.

"When you told me to seek you out if things went wrong…" Wilted began.

"It was so you could escape to one of the other servers. Even with Master’s divine Cultivation and power, he cannot cross between these worlds," John answered for Chris. "There are nine other versions of this world existing as parallel dimensions. The missing people are simply on a different server."

"You have the power to travel between these worlds?" Wilted asked Chris.

Chris let out a sigh. "I do, but let me be clear. I won't permit casual jumping between servers. The laws of this reality are fragile now that it has merged with the physical world. Forcing a path through dimensions could trigger instability."

"Yet you were perfectly willing to do it to save Wilted," John pointed out.

Chris shrugged once more.

"Which implies it is safe enough if done sparingly," Linda interjected.

"In theory…," Chris replied.

"Then that is exactly what you will do!" Linda demanded.

"Listen, lady, don't think you can boss me around—"

"My youngest son is out there on another server! You are taking me to him! Or I swear to God…!"

"Easy, Mother. Let me handle this," John said, calming Linda down.

Linda turned away with a frustrated huff.

John looked Chris in the eye. "You heard her. I have a younger brother I’ve never even met out there. I'm going to find him. You will facilitate this because, as I stated, it is your responsibility. You… will… take… us… there! Or I promise you, I will make you regret the day you built this world! Do we have an understanding?"

Chris swallowed hard, seeing the family resemblance in their intensity.

"We will take you," Wilted spoke up on Chris's behalf. When Chris looked at her, she added, "We owe them. You would have fled to another server anyway if Apollyon had won. Since that didn't happen, use the path for them instead."

"You didn't know about these other servers?" Jack asked Wilted.

"I didn't. The public plan only involved one server for ten percent of the population. I was unaware the others existed."

"They were the work of Apollyon and Mia," Chris explained. "They didn't want the world overcrowded before they took control, so they added the extra servers secretly. With Mia managing the company's finances, it was an easy secret to keep."

Jack struggled to place the name Mia until Grace whispered that it was Mistress’s true name.

"Wow, ten servers, huh?" Jack remarked. "I guess I’m lucky my grandfather ended up on the same one as me. He’d be totally lost elsewhere. Same for you and your mom… though I guess your brother wasn't so lucky."

"Master likely hid him on a different server on purpose," Linda said. "It was his way of ensuring my cooperation."

"Likely so. Normally, the system groups people based on social and family ties," Chris noted. "But with the concept of six degrees of separation, everyone is eventually linked. The system has to draw a line somewhere. In your case, I suspect Apollyon interfered rather than it being a random error."

"How do you bridge the gap to another world?" John asked.

"With a unique tool that only I possess," Chris answered.

"Can it be used at any time?"

"It can. But like I said, I won't do it frequently."

"How about once every two years?" John suggested.

Seeing Chris’s confusion, he explained, "Unless you know exactly which server my brother is on, we probably won't find him on the first try. We'll spend two years searching one world, and if he isn't there, we move to the next."

"What if we sent a search party to help you?" Jeanny offered.

"Absolutely not! I'm not transporting a crowd!" Chris barked.

"It's alright. Just the two of us is enough. This is a family matter," John said.

"I wish I could go with you," Jack said.

"You're welcome to join," John offered.

"Hehe. Maybe someday. For now, I still have plenty of adventuring to do here."

"So, are you leaving now?" Chris asked.

"In a few days. I have some final business to conclude here first," John concluded.

Note: For those checking the math, the world Jack originates from is not our Earth, even if they share many cultural similarities.